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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: race · march · patient · cap · kick · court · tube · face

  1. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. march — music
  3. court — for sport
  4. race — the arms race
  5. cap — of ice
  6. race — humankind
  7. face — part of the head
  8. tube — a container
  9. march — the month
  10. cap — a hat
  11. face — to confront
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. cap — a lid
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. court — of a king
  16. court — of law
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. kick — in football
  19. march — the month
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. tube — the underground
  23. race — a contest
  24. patient — a sick person

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com